Sunday, Jan. 8

The Road to Corelli: Virtuoso Music of the Italian Baroque at 3 p.m. at Somerville Museum, 1 Westwood Road, in the Spring Hill neighborhood. $20. Works by Frescobaldi, Legrenzi, Rognoni and Corelli performed by the Tres Maresienne with violin, viola da gamba, archlute and baroque guitar. Information is here.

La Befana, a figure from Italian folklore. (Photo: Tiguliano via Wikimedia Commons)

La Befana celebration at 4 p.m. at the Dante Alighieri Society Center, 41 Hampshire St., Kendall Square. Free, but reserve a spot. The Befana delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve and here gets her own Festival della Befana with music, dancing, prizes for children (and of course a visit from La Befana). Information is here.

Monday, Jan. 9

Read to a Dog from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Cambridge library’s O’Neill Branch, 70 Rindge Ave., North Cambridge. Free, but registration for each 10-minute time slot is required. Young readers up to age 14 will have a captive audience in these trained therapy dogs. Information is here.

Patricia Thaxton exhibition reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at Gallery 344, on the second floor of City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. Thaxton’s “The Beauty of Everyday Living” was printed on vinyl scrim to surround the Harvard Square kiosk during construction. See how Thaxton created the printed mural, which is on view in the gallery through Feb. 28, with her original collages for the mural. Information is here.

Tuesday, Jan. 10

The Parker Quartet presents The Beethoven Project from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Cambridge Main Library, 449 Broadway, Mid-Cambridge. Free. A performance by the Grammy-winning quartet, whose members are professors at Harvard. Information is here.

Laura Zigman. (Photo: A. Mathiowetz)

Laura Zigman reads from “Small World” at 7 p.m. at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Harvard Square. Free. A look at sisterhood set in Cambridge around a protagonist whose secret hobby is trolling s neighborhood social networking site. The author will be in conversation with novelist Tom Perrotta. Well-fitting masks are required. Information is here.

Wednesday, Jan. 11

Books and Brews from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. at Aeronaut Brewing, 14 Tyler St., near Union Square, Somerville. Free. A collaboration with the Somerville Public Library that this month explores “Red at the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson. Information is here.

The Lilypad Variety Show from 10 p.m. to midnight at Lilypad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square. There’s a $5 cover. Music, comedy, dance, poetry, art and film may make its way to the stage. Information is here.

Thursday, Jan. 12

MIT Museum After Dark from 6 to 9 p.m. at The MIT Museum, 314 Main St., Kendall Square. General admission is $20 for this 21-plus event. The monthly event adds demonstrations, tastings and interactive play to access to galleries, live music, a cash bar and food and drink from Turtle Swamp Brewing, Moyzilla and Crane River Cheese Club, this time with a theme of “Making Memories” – showing how researchers from the institute’s Media Lab “program” the brain and techniques for implanting false memories. Information is here.

Amy Mevorach. (Photo: Roger Vanoro via Facebook)

Lesley University’s Winter Reading Series at 6:30 p.m. at University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Free. The series ends with two days of readings by graduating students, today featuring Sari Boren and Erin McGinley (writing for stage and screen), Katie DeBonville and Amy Mevorach (nonfiction), Kent Neal (poetry) and Melinda Farris and Ashley Soden (fiction). Information is here.

Boston Celtic Music Fest from 7 to 9 p.m. (and continuing through Saturday). $25. This twice-annual homegrown celebration marks its 20th anniversary with 60-plus musicians, workshops and participatory musical sessions and dances over the course of a weekend at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St.; The Sinclair, 52 Church St.; First Parish Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square; and Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. Information is here.

Peter Cole and Nate Klug on poetry and religion at 7 p.m. at the Grolier Poetry Book Shop on 6 Plympton St., Harvard Square. $5. The conversation is introduced and Moderated by Christopher Lydon. Proof of vaccination at the door is required, and masks for the duration of the event. Information is here.

Friday, Jan. 13

LyricSanaa (via Instagram)

Boston miniFEST at 5:45 p.m. Sonia, 10 Brookline St., Central Square. $22 for an 18-plus event. Music, art and community in a festival-style atmosphere, with the bands Washburn and the River, LyricSanaa, Lonerscult, MojoCat, Gonhills, Darryl B, Elisa Miconi, 13 and Noir. Information is here.

Lesley University’s Winter Reading Series at 6:30 p.m. at University Hall, 1815 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square. Free. The series ends with more readings by graduating students, today featuring Erin Doppes and Adria Karlsson (writing for young people), Jeanne Foley and L. Scully (nonfiction), Staci Halt (poetry) and Veronica Reilly-Granich and Erin Thomas (fiction). Information is here.

Boston Celtic Music Fest (continued) from 7 to 11 p.m. (and continuing through Saturday). $20. The celebration’s urban ceilidh takes place at Somerville Theatre’s Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square. Information is here.

Hear Her Sing for Freedom at 7:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge (and continuing through Sunday, with a virtual version streaming Monday). $35. An annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday tradition is reimagined to include Coretta Scott King and her role in the civil rights movement. This new work starring Natasha Ellis provides the experience of King performing a freedom concert. Information is here.

Saturday, Jan. 14

Boston Celtic Music Fest (continued) from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (and continuing through Saturday). $28. At Club Passim, 47 Palmer St.; The Sinclair, 52 Church St.; and First Parish Church, 3 Church St., Harvard Square. Information is here.

The Art of Hiphop from 6 to 9 p.m. at Dojo at Somernova, 15 Properzi Way, Somerville. The youth-driven pilot platform brings in the artist Majic to teach the culture of hip-hop. Information is here.

Natasha Ellis as Coretta Scott King in “Hear Her Sing for Freedom.” (Multicultural Arts Center via Facebook)

Hear Her Sing for Freedom (continued) at 7:30 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge (and continuing through Sunday, with a virtual version streaming Monday). $35. Information is here.

“Music of the Madonna” graduating student recital at 8 p.m. at the Longy School of Music, 27 Garden St., Harvard Square. $25. The Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble brings two Marian cantatas as well as works for strings and continuo by Händel, Corelli and Rosenmüller. Information is here.

Conspiracy Live! comedy show from 8:30 to 11 p.m. at The Rockwell, 255 Elm St., Davis Square, Somerville. $15 for an 18-plus show. The troupe’s funniest sketches from the past year come together for a special cause: “This isn’t just any old show, it’s also an audition for SNL,” according to the comics. “Scary! But also exciting.” With musical guest Godscow. Information is here.

Sunday, Jan. 15

A belly dancer in 2014. (Photo: Alvaro Garcia via Flickr)

Belly dancing at 2:30 to 4 p.m. at The Middle East Corner, 480 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square. $20 donation for a 21-plus show. Dancers perform the “New Flames of Araby” to live music from the Udi Joseph Kouyoumjian Ensemble. Information is here.

Hear Her Sing for Freedom (continued) at 3 p.m. at the Multicultural Arts Center, 41 Second St., East Cambridge (and continuing through Sunday, with a virtual version streaming Monday). $35. Information is here.